VGFacts

Events

• 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
• 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
• 1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
• 1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
• 1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
• 1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
• 1767 – Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
• 1819 – The Bank of Savings in New York City, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
• 1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today's Framingham State College, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with 3 students.
• 1844 – The last pair of Great Auks is killed.
• 1848 – Slaves are freed in the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) by Peter von Scholten in the culmination of a year-long plot by enslaved Africans.
• 1849 – The French enter Rome in order to restore Pope Pius IX to power. This would prove a major obstacle to Italian unification.
• 1852 – Congress establishes the United States' 2nd mint in San Francisco, California.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett's Charge.
• 1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgratz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
• 1884 – Dow Jones and Company publishes its first stock average.
• 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen – the first purpose-built automobile.
• 1886 – The New York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
• 1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
• 1898 – Spanish-American War: The Spanish fleet, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is destroyed by the U.S. Navy in Santiago, Cuba.
• 1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett's Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
• 1938 – World speed record for a steam railway locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 126 miles per hour (203 km/h).
• 1938 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
• 1940 – World War II: In order to stop the ships from falling into German hands the French fleet of the Atlantic based at Mers el Kébir, is bombarded by the British fleet, coming from Gibraltar, causing the loss of three battleships: Dunkerque, Provence and Bretagne. One thousand two hundred sailors perish.
• 1944 – World War II: Minsk is liberated from Nazi control by Soviet troops during Operation Bagration.
• 1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the Congress of the United States.
• 1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
• 1962 – The Algerian War of Independence against the French ends.
• 1969 – The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
• 1970 – The Troubles: the "Falls Curfew" begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
• 1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
• 1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus.
• 1996 – Stone of Scone is returned to Scotland.
• 2005 – Same-sex marriage in Spain becomes legal.
• 2013 – 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after 3 days of protests. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.

Births

• 1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
• 1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
• 1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician (d. 1593)
• 1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian (d. 1601)
• 1590 – Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana, Italian singer, organist, and composer (d. 1662)
• 1676 – Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1747)
• 1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal (d. 1768)
• 1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
• 1738 – John Singleton Copley, American-English painter (d. 1815)
• 1743 – Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (d. 1813)
• 1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German painter (d. 1869)
• 1851 – Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1930)
• 1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer (d. 1928)
• 1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
• 1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1907)
• 1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
• 1870 – Richard Bedford Bennett, Canadian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
• 1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player (d. 1928)
• 1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher (d. 1957)
• 1878 – George M. Cohan, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
• 1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish linguist (d. 1950)
• 1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
• 1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-German author (d. 1924)
• 1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral (d. 1969)
• 1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish playwright (d. 1963)
• 1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
• 1893 – Mississippi John Hurt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
• 1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
• 1906 – Jack Earle, American actor (d. 1952)
• 1906 – George Sanders, Russian-English actor and singer (d. 1972)
• 1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
• 1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
• 1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist (d. 1965)
• 1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach
• 1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, coach, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
• 1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
• 1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American academic (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Paul O'Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
• 1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
• 1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter (d. 2010)
• 1924 – S. R. Nathan, Singaporean politician, 6th president of Singapore
• 1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
• 1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Roger Horchow, American producer and publisher
• 1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
• 1929 – Béatrice Picard, Canadian actress
• 1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player
• 1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
• 1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
• 1931 – Frits Helmuth, Danish actor (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman
• 1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
• 1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
• 1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
• 1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
• 1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Hungary
• 1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1940 – Lamar Alexander, American politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
• 1940 – Fontella Bass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
• 1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
• 1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
• 1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer
• 1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter and actor (Les Chaussettes Noires)
• 1942 – Paco Stanley, Mexican actor (d. 1999)
• 1943 – Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter (The Seekers)
• 1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
• 1944 – Michel Polnareff, French singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
• 1945 – Saharon Shelah, Israeli mathematician
• 1946 – Bolo Yeung, Hong Kong actor
• 1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
• 1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
• 1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
• 1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
• 1947 – Top Topham, English guitarist (The Yardbirds)
• 1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Little Feat)
• 1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
• 1949 – Jan Smithers, American actress
• 1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave) (d. 2006)
• 1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician
• 1949 – John Verity, English guitarist with Argent
• 1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
• 1950 – James Hahn, American politician and judge, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
• 1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti
• 1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
• 1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Free, Sharks, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
• 1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian actor, singer, and director
• 1952 – Rohinton Mistry, Indian-Canadian author
• 1954 – Franny Billingsley, American author
• 1955 – Barry Purves, English director, animator, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
• 1955 – Amy Wallace, American author (d. 2013)
• 1956 – Vincent Margera, American television personality
• 1956 – Montel Williams, American actor and talk show host
• 1957 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2004)
• 1957 – Ken Ober, American comedian, actor, and game show host (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Lisa De Leeuw, American porn actress (d. 1993)
• 1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
• 1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author (The Higsons)
• 1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh journalist
• 1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
• 1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
• 1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
• 1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Ratt, Arcade, Vertex, and Vicious Delite)
• 1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Erasure, and VCMG)
• 1961 – Pedro Romeiras, Portuguese dancer
• 1961 – Tim Smith, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (Cardiacs, The Sea Nymphs, Spratleys Japs, and Panixphere)
• 1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
• 1962 – Thomas Gibson, American actor
• 1962 – Hugh Page, South African cricketer
• 1962 – Hunter Tylo, American actress
• 1963 – Tracey Emin, English painter and photographer
• 1964 – Joanne Harris, English author
• 1964 – Yeardley Smith, French-American actress
• 1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
• 1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
• 1966 – Moisés Alou, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1967 – Brian Cashman, American businessman
• 1967 – Spiros Marangos, Greek footballer
• 1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
• 1968 – Aku Louhimies, Finnish director and screenwriter
• 1969 – Kevin Hearn, Canadian singer and keyboard player (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics, and Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle)
• 1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
• 1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
• 1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish-American ice hockey player
• 1970 – Shawnee Smith, American actress and singer (Smith & Pyle)
• 1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
• 1972 – Warren Furman, English-American actor
• 1973 – Emma Cunniffe, English actress
• 1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
• 1973 – Johnny Terris, Canadian actor
• 1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1973 – Patrick Wilson, American actor and singer
• 1976 – Andrea Barber, American actress
• 1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
• 1976 – Shane Lynch, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (Boyzone)
• 1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
• 1977 – David Bowens, American football player
• 1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
• 1979 – Ludivine Sagnier, French actress
• 1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
• 1980 – Olivia Munn, American actress
• 1980 – Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenian basketball player
• 1980 – Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
• 1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
• 1980 – Kid Sister, American rapper
• 1980 – Giorgos Theodoridis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Aoi Tada, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1981 – Justin Torkildsen, American actor
• 1982 – Kanika, Indian actress and singer
• 1983 – Steph Jones, American singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Edinson Volquez, Dominican baseball player
• 1984 – Satomi Hanamura, Japanese actress
• 1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
• 1984 – Syed Rasel, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1984 – Nicolas Roche, Irish cyclist
• 1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor
• 1985 – Dean Cook, English actor
• 1985 – Keisuke Minami, Japanese actor and singer (PureBoys)
• 1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Greg Paulus, American basketball and football player
• 1987 – Chad Broskey, American actor
• 1987 – Chris Hunter, American actor
• 1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
• 1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
• 1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
• 1989 – Godfrey Walusimbi, Ugandan footballer
• 1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby player
• 1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
• 1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
• 1991 – Tomomi Itano, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48)
• 1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
• 1991 – Grant Rosenmeyer, American actor
• 1992 – Nathalia Ramos, Spanish actress and singer
• 1992 – Molly Sandén, Swedish singer and voice actress
• 1992 – Maasa Sudo, Japanese singer (Berryz Kobo)

Deaths

• 458 – Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople (b. 449)
• 1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian reformer (b. 1500)
• 1642 – Marie de' Medici, Italian-French wife of Henri IV of France (b. 1575)
• 1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
• 1749 – William Jones, Welsh mathematician (b. 1675)
• 1778 – Anna Maria Mozart, Austrian mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1720)
• 1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l'Isle, French mineralogist (b. 1736)
• 1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar (b. 1714)
• 1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, explorer, author, and astronomer, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
• 1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
• 1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
• 1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
• 1888 – Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Vietnamese poet (b. 1822)
• 1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist (b. 1860)
• 1904 – Edouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
• 1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
• 1916 – Hetty Green, American financier (b. 1834)
• 1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
• 1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
• 1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
• 1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
• 1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
• 1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
• 1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
• 1943 – Walter Thijssen, Dutch rower (b. 1877)
• 1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician (b. 1895)
• 1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
• 1960 – Noël Bas, French gymnast (b. 1877)
• 1965 – Trigger, American horse (b. 1932)
• 1966 – Leonie Taylor, American acting archer (b. 1870)
• 1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The Rolling Stones) (b. 1942)
• 1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (The Doors and Rick & the Ravens) (b. 1943)
• 1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet (b. 1888)
• 1977 – Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
• 1978 – James Daly, Polish-American actor (b. 1918)
• 1979 – Louis Durey, French composer (b. 1888)
• 1981 – Ross Martin, Polish-American actor (b. 1920)
• 1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
• 1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
• 1989 – Jim Backus, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician (b. 1918)
• 1993 – Joe DeRita, American actor and comedian (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
• 1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player (b. 1934)
• 1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
• 1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
• 1997 – Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Mexican drug lord (b. 1956)
• 1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
• 1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Morphine and Treat Her Right) (b. 1952)
• 2000 – Kemal Sunal, Turkish actor (b. 1944)
• 2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (b. 1931)
• 2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
• 2003 – Gaetano Alibrandi, Italian archbishop (b. 1914)
• 2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Pierre Michelot, French bassist (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (b. 1950)
• 2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Alice Timander, Swedish dentist (b. 1915)
• 2008 – Ernie Cooksey, English footballer (b. 1980)
• 2008 – Larry Harmon, American clown (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor (b. 1944)
• 2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
• 2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
• 2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (Al Ekhwa) (b. 1960)
• 2012 – Nguyen Huu Co, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Hugó Gruber, Hungarian actor (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American politician (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian automobile designer and politician (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Hollie Stevens, American porn actress (b. 1982)
• 2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
• 2013 – Ryan Davis, American journalist (b. 1979)
• 2013 – Azelio Manzetti, Italian chaplain (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Maria Pasquinelli, Italian murderer (b. 1913)
• 2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
• 2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1951)
• 2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Germanus of Man
  • Heliodorus of Altino
  • Mucian
  • Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople
  • Pope Leo II
  • Thomas (Apostle) (Catholic and others), one of four days in the year on which Quarter Sessions sat, although the Anglican Communion and others celebrate Thomas on December 21.
  • July 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
• Independence Day, celebrates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation by Soviet troops in 1944. (Belarus)
• The start of the Dog Days according to The Old Farmer's Almanac but not according to established meaning in most European cultures.
• Women's Day (Myanmar)

502 – King Gundobad issues a new legal code (Lex Burgundionum) at Lyon that makes Gallo-Romans and Burgundians subject to the same laws.
845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
1461 – Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.
1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm's Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d'état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company's rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1.
1871 – Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
1882 – The Knights of Columbus are established.
1886 – John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
1936 – In Germany, Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany's illegal remilitarization and reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters.
1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico's leading universities, is founded.
1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina's armed forces, ending an 11½ day constitutional crisis.
1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
1974 – NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.
2017 – The United Kingdom invokes Article 50, beginning the formal process of Brexit.

1001 – Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (d. 1044)
1187 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203)
1373 – Marie d'Alençon, French princess (d. 1417)
1517 – Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal (d. 1561)
1553 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1614)
1561 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (d. 1636)
1584 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (d. 1648)
1602 – John Lightfoot, English priest, scholar, and academic (d. 1675)
1620 – Edward Digges, English barrister and colonist
1629 – Alexis of Russia, Tsar of Russia (d. 1676)
1713 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
1735 – Johann Karl August Musäus, German author (d. 1787)
1747 – Johann Wilhelm Hässler, German pianist and composer (d. 1822)
1769 – Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (d. 1851)
1780 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (d. 1841)
1790 – John Tyler, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
1802 – Johann Moritz Rugendas, German landscape painter of Spanish America (d. 1858)
1816 – 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
1824 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1899)
1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
1862 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (d. 1947)
1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
1869 – Aleš Hrdlička, Czech-American anthropologist and scholar (d. 1943)
1869 – Sir Edwin Lutyens, British architect (d. 1944)
1870 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (d. 1904)
1871 – Tom Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1939)
1873 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Jewish-Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
1876 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (d. 1908)
1884 – Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1965)
1885 – Dezső Kosztolányi, Hungarian author and poet (d. 1936)
1888 – Enea Bossi, Sr., Italian-American engineer, designed the Budd BB-1 Pioneer and Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (d. 1963)
1889 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
1889 – Howard Lindsay, American producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor (d. 1968)
1891 – Yvan Goll, French-German poet and playwright (d. 1950)
1891 – Alfred Neubauer, Austrian race car driver and manager (d. 1980)
1892 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
1893 – Astrid Holm, Danish actress (d. 1961)
1895 – Ernst Jünger, German philosopher and author (d. 1998)
1896 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
1899 – Lavrentiy Beria, Georgian-Russian general and politician (d. 1953)
1900 – Bill Aston, English race car driver (d. 1974)
1900 – John McEwen, Australian farmer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)
1902 – Marcel Aymé, French author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
1902 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (d. 1979)
1902 – William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
1903 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician, 14th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1999)
1906 – James Bausch, American decathlete and football player (d. 1974)
1907 – Braguinha, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
1908 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor (d. 1981)
1908 – Dennis O'Keefe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
1909 – Moon Mullican, American country and western singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1967)
1912 – Hanna Reitsch, Polish-German soldier and pilot (d. 1979)
1914 – Phil Foster, American actor (d. 1985)
1914 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (d. 2014)
1916 – Peter Geach, English philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet and politician (d. 2005)
1917 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (d. 2008)
1918 – Pearl Bailey, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
1918 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (d. 1991)
1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam's Club (d. 1992)
1919 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (d. 2001)
1920 – John M. Belk, American businessman and politician (d. 2007)
1920 – Clarke Fraser, American-Canadian geneticist and academic (d. 2014)
1920 – Pierre Moinot, French author (d. 2007)
1920 – Theodore Trautwein, American lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
1921 – Sam Loxton, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (d. 2011)
1923 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
1923 – Betty Binns Fletcher, American lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
1923 – Bob Haymes, American singer-songwriter, and actor (d. 1989)
1926 – Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-Israeli banker and economist (d. 2012)
1927 – John McLaughlin, American journalist and producer (d. 2016)
1927 – John Vane, English pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
1928 – Romesh Bhandari, Pakistani-Indian politician, 13th Foreign Secretary of India (d. 2013)
1928 – Keith Botsford, Belgian-American journalist, author, and academic
1928 – Vincent Gigante, American boxer and mobster (d. 2005)
1929 – Sheila Kitzinger, English activist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1929 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
1929 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Mauritius
1931 – Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
1931 – Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyzstani economist and politician (d. 2002)
1931 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2015)
1931 – Norman Tebbit, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1933 – Jacques Brault, Canadian poet and academic
1934 – Shahryar Khan, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat, 20th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
1936 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and educator (d. 2012)
1936 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician
1936 – John A. Durkin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
1936 – Judith Guest, American author and screenwriter
1936 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
1937 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
1937 – Smarck Michel, Haitian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
1937 – Gordon Milne, English footballer
1938 – Bert de Vries, Dutch politician
1939 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 2008)
1939 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, and producer
1939 – Hanumant Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
1940 – Ray Davis, American bass singer (d. 2005)
1940 – Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
1940 – John Suchet, English journalist and game show host
1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr., American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – Bob Lurtsema, American football player
1943 – Vangelis, Greek keyboard player and songwriter
1943 – Chad Allan, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1944 – Denny McLain, American baseball player and sportscaster
1944 – Lynne Segal, Australian/British feminist academic and activist
1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player and sportscaster
1945 – Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2002)
1946 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2007)
1946 – Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (d. 2017)
1947 – Inge Bödding, German sprinter
1947 – Robert Gordon, American singer and actor
1947 – Bobby Kimball, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Bud Cort, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1948 – Piet Souer, Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger
1949 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec
1949 – Keith Simpson, English historian and politician
1951 – William Clarke, American harmonica player (d. 1996)
1951 – Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricketer
1952 – Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
1952 – Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby player and coach
1952 – John Hendricks, American businessman, founded Discovery Communications
1952 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (d. 2012)
1953 – Tõnis Palts, Estonian politician, 39th Mayor of Tallinn
1955 – Earl Campbell, American football player
1955 – Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
1955 – Marina Sirtis, British-American actress
1956 – Patty Donahue, American singer (The Waitresses) (d. 1996)
1957 – Elizabeth Hand, American author
1957 – Christopher Lambert, American-born French actor
1958 – Pedro Bial, Brazilian journalist and producer
1958 – Travis Childers, American businessman and politician
1958 – Nouriel Roubini, Turkish-American economist and academic
1958 – Victor Salva, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Marc Silvestri, American publisher, founded Top Cow Productions
1959 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
1959 – Perry Farrell, American singer-songwriter
1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
1960 – Wayne Pearce, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
1961 – Gary Brabham, English-Australian race car driver
1961 – Mike Kingery, American baseball player
1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian
1961 – Michael Winterbottom, English director and producer
1962 – Billy Beane, American baseball player and manager
1962 – Ted Failon, Filipino journalist and politician
1962 – Kirk Triplett, American golfer
1964 – Catherine Cortez Masto, American attorney and politician
1964 – Jill Goodacre, American model and actress
1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress
1964 – Ming Tsai, American chef and television host
1965 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 2005)
1965 – William Oefelein, American commander, pilot, and astronaut
1965 – Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler, long jumper, and politician
1966 – Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician
1966 – Eric Gunderson, American baseball player
1966 – Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
1967 – Michel Hazanavicius, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Brian Jordan, American baseball player and sportscaster
1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
1969 – Kim Batten, American hurdler
1969 – Shinichi Mochizuki, Japanese mathematician
1969 – Jimmy Spencer, American football player and coach
1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary
1971 – Lara Logan, South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent
1971 – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
1972 – Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
1972 – Alex Ochoa, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
1972 – Priti Patel, English politician
1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer and coach
1973 – Sebastiano Siviglia, Italian footballer
1973 – Steve Smith, English high jumper
1974 – Miguel Gómez, Colombian-American photographer and educator
1976 – Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
1978 – Aaron Persico, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
1980 – Bill Demong, American skier
1980 – Bruno Silva, Uruguayan footballer
1981 – Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer
1983 – Darius Draudvila, Lithuanian decathlete
1984 – Juan Mónaco, Argentinian tennis player
1985 – Fernando Amorebieta, Venezuelan footballer
1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Mickey Pimentel, American football player
1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
1986 – Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
1987 – Gianluca Freddi, Italian footballer
1987 – Dimitri Payet, French footballer
1987 – Romain Hamouma, French footballer
1988 – Esther Cremer, German runner
1988 – Jesús Molina, Mexican footballer
1988 – Jürgen Zopp, Estonian tennis player
1989 – James Tomkins, English footballer
1990 – Carlos Peña (Mexican footballer), Mexican footballer
1990 – Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
1990 – Lyle Taylor, English footballer
1991 – Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
1991 – N'Golo Kante, French footballer
1993 – Thorgan Hazard, Belgian footballer